News

On 30 November – 3 December, diplomats from Lithuanian Mission to the United Nations in Geneva participate in 88th session of the Council of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) entitled “Valuing Migration”. During this session IOM member countries and migration experts discuss the costs, benefits, challenges and opportunities of migration. Lithuania became a member of the IOM in 1998. In course of the years of membership the organisation provided support to Lithuania in order to strengthen its migration control framework preparing for the EU membership and to implement programmes aiming at voluntary return of migrants to their counties of origin, at information about counter trafficking of women and help the victims of trafficking. IOM also initiated Information to Counter Trafficking among the Youth in Baltic States programme, which is currently underway. IOM is planning several projects in the year 2005. Project “Fight against illegal migration on the eastern EU border” for cooperation on Lithuanian, Latvian and Byelorussia border, and “Free movement, secure borders” aiming at analysing the functioning of facilitated transit framework between Kaliningrad region and the rest of Russia through the Lithuanian territory. During the IOM Council session Brazil, Bahamas, Estonia and Turkey were admitted as new members of the organisation. Now IOM has 109 member states.